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The Archsepton
The Archsepton '''is the traditional title held by the leader of the Faith Militant, and de facto ruler of Pentos following the High Sparrow's conquest of the city in 301 AC. Once selected, the Archsepton rules for life. While the position of High Septon is considered separate (and Archsepton and High Septon cooperating with one another is not unheard of), the Archsepton controls such power that many consider him but one crystal crown away from usurping his colleague's title. Whilst the former is considered to be the 'Avatar' of the Seven's will on earth, the latter is considered to be their 'instrument'; that is, whilst the High Septon carries the voice of the Warrior, it is the Archsepton that is his sword, and so forth. Selection Unlike the position of High Septon, the Archsepton is selected not through a council of Most Devout; instead, it is done through a series of trials referred to as '''The Wanderer's Divination, intended to recreate the trials experienced by Hugor of the Hill, the first King of the Andals, and who was crowned by the Father himself. This series of tests is often a grueling affair, with often upwards of three-fourths of it's entrants dying as a result. Such victims are considered to have experienced truest suffering in the mortal plane in the name of holy order, and are believed to be granted a place in the higher levels of the Seven Heavens as a result - an arrangement not dissimilar to martyrs of the Faith such as Qarlton "the Holyshield" Chester and Ser Humfrey Graceford. The trials are as follow: * The Trial of the Mother, which tests any those that would seek to display compassion. Entrants are tasked with caring for the sick of the city, often for weeks at a time - as a result, many of would-be Archseptons succumb to diseases contracted during this first trial. * The Trial of the Maiden, which tests any true followers of the Seven-Who-Are-One that would wish to live chivalrously. Entrants are sent to guard the innocent caravans and travelers on the roads to the south and east of Pentos, protecting them as far as Myr or Qohor - such practices have often led to raised tensions with each of the Free Cities, with many of the guards being members of the Faith Militant and, as such, less-than-welcoming to the competing ideologies often present elsewhere in Essos. * The Trial of the Crone, which tests any those that would seek to display wisdom. A farce, it's members are locked within the Black District of the city until they can accurately predict the future - such is the only time entrance is permitted into the scarred remains of what was once the Spice District. Many perish as a result of intense meditation within the ruins, searching for the answer that never comes; in reality, the truth is this: no man may predict the future, and to seek to do so is to label yourself as higher than the gods. Only those that come to this conclusion will succeed in this trial. * The Trial of the Warrior, in which participants must display bravery. This is often done by volunteering to serve as champions for those accused by the new legal system of Pentos, which greatly favors trials by combat as a more direct way to learn of the Seven's will - many a Warrior's Son and Poor Fellow alike have perished in the arena over anything from property to disputes to accusations of bakers having put sawdust in the bread. * The Trial of the Smith, which seeks to test talent and faith in ones' own abilities. Those seeking to become the next Archsepton must create a breastplate, beginning with harvesting the ore in the Hills of Norvos and ending with beating the molten metal into shape themselves, before dawning their creation and being struck in the chest three times by the blade of the Grand Captain of the Warrior's Sons. * The Trial of the Stranger, while being listed as a trial in all official documents, is in fact no trial at all; instead, it is believed that life itself is the Stranger's testing of every true devotee of the Seven-Who-Are-One, and to be living is to be considered to have passed it. All will fail, eventually, however, for the Stranger is inevitable. * '''The Trial of the Father '''is the last of the trials, and is the least grand of them all: entrants must walk from the Hills of Andalos, where it is believed for Hugor of the Hill to have been crowned, upon their knees until they reach the gates of Sunrise Town. To date, only one set of Divinations has resulted in two living entrants that have succeeded in all trials; such a succession crisis was quickly decided by a trial by combat between the two, to better discern which of them the Seven-Who-Are-One preferred. Category:Religion Category:Pentos